Solar Storms Could Bring Northern Lights South

Increased solar activity could give residents of the continental U.S., southern Europe and Japan the chance to see the northern lights for the first time in several years.
This aurora australis image was taken during a geomagnetic storm that was most likely caused by a coronal mass ejection from the Sun on May 29. The photo was taken from The International Space Station. Increased solar activity over the next two years will push these displays farther from the poles, making them visible to people as far south as the continental US and as far north as Buenos Aires.

The National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center says the sun is entering a period of high activity, marked by more sunspots and a greater chance of a coronal mass ejection, or CME, hitting the Earth. That would result in auroras being visible much further from the poles than they usually are.